Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced the top 25 applicants of this year’s Investing in Innovation (i3) competition, which will award more than $135 million to expand innovative practices designed to improve student achievement.
The focus on innovation makes the i3 competition a logical fit for charter schools. Funding can provide development for smart ideas that need further research, validation for programs to assess effectiveness and build capacity, or scale-up grants for programs ready to expand at the national level. Previous years’ charter recipients have included the KIPP Foundation, New Schools for New Orleans, The AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation, Aspire Public Schools, the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools, and IDEA. This year, two charter-focused programs made the i3’s top 25:
The San Francisco Bay Area Seneca Family of Agencies, a nonprofit, special education and mental health services provider, proposes to partner with a mix of charter and district schools, including Education for Change, a charter management organization, and the Lighthouse Community Charter School to implement their Unconditional Education program. Rather than focus efforts on a single counselor or only a handful of staff, the program provides academic, behavioral, and social-emotional intervention training to the entire school community and will serve schools with large percentages of high-risk youth.
The University Public Schools, a network of charter schools affiliated with Arizona State University, applied for i3 funds to expand their Gathering, Reflecting, Owning our Work (GROW) project that provides STEM immersion for K-12 students. GROW will give students portable technology for use both in the classroom and at home, and provide meaningful data on the effectiveness of mobile learning.
Other applicants in the top 25 are partnering with K-12 schools, including public charters:
The Children’s Aid Society (CAS) in New York City is proposing a parent engagement program partnership with schools located in the South Bronx—including the Children’s Aid College Prep Charter School. Schools in this area are often characterized by high levels of poverty, school failure, and crime. CAS’s Parent Leadership Institute will encourage parents to build peer networks, workshops, and one-on-one training sessions to help families find schools that best meet their child’s needs.
Expeditionary Learning partners with schools, districts, and charter boards to boost student engagement and achievement. Their i3 application outlines a program to deliver resources, support, and professional development to teachers at select middle schools in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. With an emphasis on both school culture and academic success, their model has a proven track record to markedly improve student achievement in as little as two years.
The top 25 applicants have until December 11 to secure matching funds required to receive federal funds and final awards will be announced by the end of the year. The i3 competition is a great way to reward innovative, collaborative efforts between charter schools and traditional public schools, and we are pleased to see this year is no exception. Kim Kober is the federal policy & government relations coordinator at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
